


Greatest Fear

by Denois



Series: Tumblr Fics and Prompt Fills [25]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Communication, Getting Together, M/M, Prompt Fill, discussions of phobias, fears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:08:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23540602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Denois/pseuds/Denois
Summary: Dex wasn’t sure who originally started the practice of asking weird questions on the roadie bus; they’d been doing it longer than he’d been on the team. He was sure that whoever had come up with the current question hadn’t thought it through enough.Why would anyone actually admit to their greatest fear to the whole team? The chirping would be relentless.“Dex! You’re up! What’s your greatest fear?”He looked over from his book at the waiting faces of the taddies and waffles. “The ocean.”Having fulfilled his duties, he turned back to his book.
Relationships: Derek "Nursey" Nurse/William "Dex" Poindexter
Series: Tumblr Fics and Prompt Fills [25]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1693858
Comments: 4
Kudos: 73





	Greatest Fear

**Author's Note:**

> Anonymous asked for H for Dex and Draskireis asked for H for NurseyDex. [H (from this list)](https://sexydexynurse.tumblr.com/post/187583718365/send-me-characters-and-a-letter-and-ill-write) is Greatest Fear. This might have gotten away from me a little bit.

Dex wasn’t sure who originally started the practice of asking weird questions on the roadie bus; they’d been doing it longer than he’d been on the team. He was sure that whoever had come up with the current question hadn’t thought it through enough.

Why would anyone actually admit to their greatest fear to the whole team? The chirping would be relentless.

“Dex! You’re up! What’s your greatest fear?”

He looked over from his book at the waiting faces of the taddies and waffles. “The ocean.”

Having fulfilled his duties, he turned back to his book.

“Bullshit. You work on a boat in the summers.” Stenny’s voice was grating

“That’s why I know to fear the ocean.”

The rest of the team kept grumbling, so he sighed. “Fine. My greatest fear is that I’ll lose my scholarship and then drown in a mountain of student loan debt that I can never repay because I decided to go to an ivy league school instead of a sensible state school.”

He pinned Stenny with a glare, daring him to push it.

“My greatest fear is having to touch a puck off the ice.” Everyone turned to look at Chowder.

Dex tried to convey his thanks with a smile.

“Bullshit again! That doesn’t count! That’s just a superstition.”

Nursey stood up and cocked an eyebrow. “Puckphobia is a real thing. You allowed it when Hops said his fear was spiders.”

“That’s because spiders are freaky. Pucks are just pucks.”

“What part of ‘irrational fear’ is confusing you about the definition of phobia, Stenny?”

After that, the discussion devolved into low level grumbling which Dex ignored in favor of returning his attention to his book.

He was able to push the conversation from his mind until they got to the hotel and he dropped onto one of the beds.

“Hey, Poindexter?”

“Hmm?”

“Thanks for not telling your real fear. If you’d said you were afraid of not being accepted for yourself, they might have…. Anyway. That was chill. Thanks.”

Dex rolled over until he could see Nursey. “First of all, you don’t owe a performance to anyone. Anyone that doesn’t accept you for who you are doesn’t deserve to know you and you should probably just cut them out and leave them behind.”

“Bold words for someone who couldn’t even live with me for two full months.”

“You were trying to run me out of the Haus and me moving out had nothing to do with my acceptance of you.” Dex paused and considered. “If I made you feel like you weren’t accepted, then I’m really sorry.”

“‘S Chill.”

Dex groaned and rolled back onto his back to stare at the ceiling. “It’s not chill. I never want to make you feel like that.”

Dex closed his eyes and counted out his breaths to keep them measured. The room was quiet for several minutes. He wasn’t sure if that helped or hurt his efforts at remaining calm.

“What’s second?”

“What?”

“You said ‘first of all’ earlier. So, what’s second?”

“Oh. That’s not my greatest fear.”

“Chill, Poindexter. I figured out frog year that’s why you fix all the stuff around the Haus.”

“Ayuh. It’s a big fear. Just not the biggest.” He owed Nursey honesty, at least.The bed dipped and Dex didn’t open his eyes to figure out that Nursey had sat on the other side of it. “Then what is? You know mine.”

“Figured it was obvious.”

Nursey filled the pause before Dex could continue. “People getting hurt?”

Dex huffed a laugh. “That pretty much covers all the other big ones. People I love getting hurt. People I love getting hurt and I’m there but can’t manage to stop it. People I love getting hurt and it’s my fault.” He licked his lips. “That last one. That’s the biggest.”

“That’s irrational. You wouldn’t hurt anyone. People always assume you’re a fighter, because of stereotypes I guess. But you’re secretly soft. You’d never hurt someone you love.”

“Wouldn’t I though? Haven’t I? Even when trying to prevent y-them from getting hurt. I keep causing it.” He pushed himself all the way up until he was standing. “I’m gonna go get some ice.”

When he returned to the room fifteen minutes later, Nursey was still sitting on his bed, but now he had the ice bucket in his lap.

“You didn’t come right back, so I don’t think you wanted ice.”

Dex grunted and sat in the chair in the corner.

“You’re right, you know. I was trying to run you out of the room. I thought…. I thought if I ran you out of the room intentionally, then it would hurt less than you moving out because I wasn’t good enough. But then, I just kept thinking that it proved that you didn’t even want to be there. That we weren’t even really friends. You hadn’t even wanted to room with me from the start.”

Dex’s breath hitched. “My scholarship covers room and board.”

“Chill.”

“No. I mean.” He paused and took a few deep breaths. “Staying in the dorms is free for me. Getting dibs. Moving out of the room and staying in the Haus. That costs me more than staying in the dorms or going back to them.”

The room was silent for a long time and he wasn’t sure if Nursey understood what he was saying.

“You never spend money unnecessarily. I’ve seen you wash and reuse plastic bags. You save all the holiday wrapping paper. You wouldn’t let me change the thermostat because it would increase the gas bill.”

“Ayuh. That’s all true.”

The room went silent again.

Once again, it was Nursey who broke it. “You aren’t to blame for my arm.”

“If I hadn’t yelled at you about crashing the boards, you wouldn’t have turned.”

“And I still would have tried to climb over at the gate and broken it. Shit happens.”

Dex rolled his eyes and kept them firmly directed towards the window.

“Wait….”

And then he froze.

“People you love…. Poindexter…. Chill.”

There was rustling and the sound of a few footsteps and before Dex could turn and figure out what was happening, Nursey was in front of him, craddling his face.

“Poindexter. Honesty hour. Do you love me?”

Dex swallowed hard and stared into Nursey’s eyes. He’d already decided that Nursey deserved the truth. It seemed Nursey was determined to get all of it, even if it meant leaving Dex in pieces.

He nodded.

“I’m in love with you and I think I might be seeing what I want to see, so I’m really going to need you to say it for me.”

“I love you. Probably in love with you. Not sure if it’s possible to know at this point?”

“Can I kiss you?”

Dex nodded again until his face was stilled by Nursey’s lips finding his own.

After a moment, Dex pulled back. “Kneeling isn’t good for your knees.”

Nursey looked at him for a moment before grinning. “Laying down is ok, though, right?”

“Ayuh.”

“Chill.”

Once they were cuddled together on the bed, Dex allowed himself a few moments to just feel Nursey in his arms and try to believe it was real.

“Do you think anyone actually gave their greatest fear?” Nursey was playing with a button on Dex’s flannel, which was very distracting even as he asked the question.

“We both know that puckphobia isn’t Chowder’s biggest fear. And judging by the photos of Hops’s pet tarantula, he’s not an arachnophobe, either.”

“Hmm.” Nursey nuzzled his nose into Dex’s shoulder. “Can I stay here tonight? In your bed?”

Dex swallowed hard. “Um. I mean. We should probably talk some more, before we do anything too….” He trailed off, unsure as to how to explain that he wanted to do this right. Committed, not casual.

“Chill. We definitely should. I mean. I’m down for more kissing, if you are. And definitely the talking thing. But I just meant like, sharing a bed. Just sleeping.”

“Oh. Yeah. Of course.”

“Chill. Tomorrow I get to start wooing you.”

“Wait, no. I didn’t agree to wooing.”

“Too late. You love me. I get to woo you.”

“Okay, but if I already love you, then wooing is moot.”

“Don’t try to use your fancy logic on me.”


End file.
